Here We Stand
by rainingWolf
Summary: This was a game and her father surely intended to win because there was nothing he would not do for their people and she had always loved that about her father but now as both Shiro and Sendak stepped up to stand before the throne, she wanted to stop this before it began because this wasn't a game anymore - an ongoing story about how Shiro got his scar in this Princess/bodyguard AU
1. Chapter 1

A prequel to **sleapyGazelle's** fic, Solace, which is a Shallura princess and bodyguard AU. Don't necessarily have to read her snippet to understand what's going on.

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Princess Allura stilled herself as she suppressed a small smile that dared threaten her face. It would be unfitting for a princess to showcase her emotions at high court. Especially when the Emperor of the Galra Empire was standing at the dias of the stairwell leading to the throne.

But she couldn't help herself when Shiro met her eyes and made a funny face as if mocking Emperor Zarkon who was currently making some grand speech about honor and loyalty when everybody here knew what a farce this was.

The Galra Empire had been quietly making moves against Altea and her more closer allies; his visit from Zarkon was just an excuse to flaunt his military might.

Her attention was pulled from Shiro back to her father when he made a remark on Zarkon's continuous commitment to arms and how he hoped this would benefit their long held alliance with each other. This time, she let out a grimace before she could wipe it off her face.

As if the Galra wanted to keep the alliance when they had been hovering just barely beyond the neutral space the long ago agreement had established between the two planets. If the Galra sensed weakness, Altea would quickly become a warzone, leading to more destruction and chaos since they were the primary opposition and rational member of the two sides. Other planets were depending on this meeting to be successful; they see this as an opportunity to show their neutrality but also united strength against the possible onslaught that is known as the Galra Empire.

The Empire had already violated some minor details of the treaty that had been in place long before her father had ascended the throne. King Alfor refused to be the reason that Altea fell so he had also amassed military arms, although in a much smaller number than Zarkon's. She could see it in the way Shiro's new armor shone in the light and how his fellow Paladins, vanguards to the royals of Altea, sported helmets accompanied by the royal insignia.

She had a moment to appreciate how fit the armor was on Shiro before she was abruptly dragged away from her admiration by the sound of Zendark's smooth voice rippling across the room in a slither. "But surely Altea is not as weak as you say it is, King Alfor. I'm certain there must be someone willing to put this to a test."

The tension skyrocketed in the throne room and Allura was lost for a moment, having been momentarily distracted. But at Zandark's next words, there was no mistaking what he wanted. "Are you really going to turn down this opportunity to showcase your strength, Alfor," and the Emperor's eyes focused eerily on Shiro; her breath got caught in her throat because she knew what he was going to say next.

"After all, you have a Champion at your disposal. Why not show us your strength?"

She felt more than saw Shiro clench his fist and she refused to look at him because if Zendark saw this _attachment_ she had to this boy who used to wear her pitiful flower crowns and still have those dry flowers hanging on his wall in his room, he would propose war right there and then. Instead, she kept an impassive face as her father stood up, tall, mighty, and echoed, "Yes. We shall show our strength." King Alfor looked pointedly at her guard who straightened his back and stepped forward, right hand on the bayard at his side. The same hand that had been taken earlier in some border planet's conflict with the Galra before the Empire loomed closer and closer to home.

"And who is the challenger, Zendark," her father asked and she still refused to look at Shiro; the Emperor's smile slipped higher and higher as someone taller than she could imagine walked up next to to Zendark.

"I present Sendak. I am confident he will provide us with the… entertainment we desperately need tonight."

 _Entertainment._ Something in her stomach curdled as she placed her hands in her lap in a perfect pose of someone unaffected by what was currently being proposed. This was a game and her father surely intended to win because there was nothing he would not do for their people and she had always loved that about her father but now as both Shiro and Sendak stepped up to stand before the throne, she wanted to stop this before it began because this wasn't a game anymore.

Not when Shiro paled in comparison to Sendark because they had a _history_ that Shiro didn't share with her when she finally saw him in the cyropod and she had brushed furious tears from her eyes at the sight of him because she could not afford to be _emotional_.

Now, some emotion she could describe but didn't want to threatened to crawl on her face as she watched her father step up to stand shoulder to shoulder with Shiro, and Shiro bowed low, low, like he was sinking.

She heard, "Tomorrow at noon," but her eyes were pinned onto the back that looked so small for a single moment before Shiro rose- and the tension was still so palpable but Zarkon had already bowed mockingly towards her father and stepped away with his own Champion at his side.

She stood up to dismiss her attendants and the crowd dispersed in small groups while the council gathered around her father. She paid them no heed and they to her as the royal entourage moved from this chamber to one that was more suited for matters such as this.

She saw nothing but the pristine white of Shiro's back before he turned to face her, his hand still gripped onto his bayard. He took one step, two steps to her and her hand came up before she could even stop it. Shiro's head tilted to the left from the force of the slap; he didn't stop her as she lifted her hand again before she balled it at her side.

"You could've refused. You didn't have to accept."

His lips thinned as his hand tightened around the hilt of the bayard before he let go, releasing the tension in his arm as he stood in guard position before her.

"You could've said no. You could've…" She felt her nails digging into her palms as she trailed off because Shiro had finally looked at her since they shared a moment of childishness between them earlier and it was like meeting him for the first time all over again.

"I can't lose you too," was what she ended up saying instead when she finally opened her mouth to meet Shiro's unanswered statement of duty and honor because they've known each other since they were children and this couldn't _possibly_ be the moment where they fell apart now.

And as Shiro unfurl her fingers and ghosted a kiss over the nail marks on her hand, she barely heard his voice, sad, weary-

"So this is where we stand."

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\- Reviews are much appreciated.

\- Hope everyone enjoys!


	2. Chapter 2

"But Your Majesty! This is a declaration of war! To have Zarkon blatantly propose something as absurd as this match is ridiculous! I say we mount an assault immediately!" A fist pounded on a table and was echoed by several nods around the room.

King Alfor could only inwardly sigh as one of his counselors stood up to respond to the allegation of the other enraged counselor. As his counsel argued, all he could think about was the look on Shiro's face when Zarkon zeroed in on him. The grip the guard had on his bayard could have broke rock and mowed trees; it could have shattered glass.

"And if the Black Paladin loses, then that will just be even worse. I say we act now! We should-"

Alfor clasped his hands in front of him; the counselman speaking immediately sat down and the entire room looked at him as if he had all the answers in the galaxy residing in him. "Shiro will not lose."

There was a beat of silence before the third counselman on his left timidly said, "But _if_ he does, should we not have precautions set in place?" Slight murmurs flitted down to his end of the table but he barely heard them because this could not _stand_.

"We have faith in the Black Paladin." He eyed the counselman and if he intentionally emphasized and used the royal we, nobody called him out on it. Nobody would dare.

With that note, he stood up and left, ignoring the bows and curtseys of his council. He had better things to focus on, after all.

Guards saluted him along the hallway as he finally stopped in front of his destination. He paused before he knocked on the door and was rewarded with a "Come in."

He entered and eyed the dry flower crowns that lined the wall; echoes of laughter rang in his ear before they're cut short by Shiro entering the room with a cleaning rag in his hand. He had clearly been polishing his armor by the look of the multitude pieces in the room.

"Your Majesty." Shiro dropped down onto one knee and he gestured for the boy to rise. Shiro stood in guard position and Alfor almost wanted to tell him not to because he could still see a younger Shiro's daring smile before a lifetime of duty stole it away.

He had come here to make sure Shiro knew what he had to do but what came out of his mouth instead was an apology. "I apologize for what I am asking you to do."

Shiro's eyebrows went up minutely before he smoothed his features into a blank face but his hands betrayed him for they drummed along his thighs.

"I am loyal to Altea," Shiro stated and not for the first time, Alfor wanted to take the boy's shoulders and shake some sense into him because what is loyalty and honor if he was dead. The words hung like lead in the air and left a bitterness that settled in his stomach; somewhere in the room, a petal fell from one of the crown flowers.

"Of course, Shiro. But sometimes, I wish…"

But what Alfor wished could not be possible. He had power. He had wealth. But even he could not make the impossible possible and he mourned the possibility of a happy ending for the young boy before him.

"But I suppose if wishes were horses, beggars would ride," he stated. "And what kind of King would I be if I indulged myself?"

Shiro's lips thinned and Alfor wanted to say something, anything to the boy who had pinned the flimsy flower crowns onto the walls with a reverent awe when he was younger. They could never be almost father and son; they were king and vassal and that was where they stood.

And as Shiro bowed again and twisted his hands in a signal of fealty, of loyalty, of blood, all Alfor could do was watch because of the burden he had put on the boy's shoulders.

For Altea, Shiro would die.

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\- Reviews are much appreciated.

\- Hope you enjoy~

\- Next chapter will be from Shiro's POV.


	3. Chapter 3

His helmet was the last thing he put away after he painstakingly lined up the scores of flower petals in a row along the windowsill. A small smile worked its way onto his face before it fell away at the reminder of what was and what couldn't be.

The night was as serene as the quiet before the storm but he knew that nothing was settled yet even though he had rigidly gone through the rituals of battle preparation. He lit the candles on the table and wrote down the required- his money to be divided among the other paladins, his helmet for Keith, his bayard back to the King. His lines were orderly and precise for his direct debts had been settled long ago. Whatever King Alfor said or thought, Shiro knew that he would do what he ought to do and paid for what he owed; he'd been long at peace with himself in that regard.

That night, he laid down and slept deeply, without dreams.

When he awoke, the air was so crisp that it burned when he breathed; the wind had blown through the window cracks when the sun dawned and made the flower petals flutter in dizzying circles before coming to rest in a haphazard mess. He dutifully lined them up once again, gently laying them in their position as sunlight lit him up, and for the first time since Emperor Zarkon had looked into his soul, Shiro felt warm and he almost heard Allura's whisper of restrained feelings.

He caressed one juniberry petal and allowed himself a moment to imagine what a life without gold and silver would look like. He laid that one petal on his desk next to the closed letter addressed to Princess Allura.

He did not look back as he closed the door to his room and set out.

The morning went by in a haze even though each breath felt like he was burning from the inside out; it was like walking in a dream and slowly becoming aware of reality and he would have sworn that was what happened if not for every breath feeling like fire.

He blinked and missed one second, two, three; he wasn't sure when the sun finally rose fully into the sky.

He walked into the courtyard and immediately felt eyes peering at him. He ignored them as he walked up to the King and Princess who were holding his bayard and helmet. It was customary for the royals to give their vassals their weapon and armor before a match.

Sendak was on the opposite side of the court. Emperor Zarkon appeared to be giving a speech to his Champion who nodded obediently at every word.

"Shiro." He looked at the King and accepted the outstretched bayard. No words were said. No words needed to _be_ said as Alfor briefly put his hand on Shiro's shoulder and a look that Shiro would later describe as heartbreak flittered on the regal face before disappearing just as quickly.

Shiro moved on and purposefully didn't catch Allura's eyes as she handed him his helmet. He almost didn't catch her whispered words being carried off by the wind. "For luck," she breathed and for a second, they were young again and she was handing him a small flower crown.

He accepted the bayard.

He strapped it to his belt.

He didn't look back.

At the center of the courtyard, the two fighters stood and reluctantly bowed to each other. Sendak barely bowed and Shiro accepted the challenge; neither broke eye contact as they lowered their heads in this facade. "Fighters in position," King Alfor stated and they both lifted their weapons; Shiro, his bayard, and Sendak, his arm that transformed into a sword.

Shiro thought he heard a whisper of honor on the wind before the King's arm came down and he instantly leapt away from Sendak's lunge. He parried the sword and pushed off the ground in a leg sweep. The Galra jumped backwards and Shiro straightened up to meet the glare.

There was a moment of judgement before Sendak closed the distance in two quick large steps and bore down with his arm. Shiro caught the sword in his right and stabbed out with his left but met air as Sendak ripped free of his grip.

Shiro's bayard flew onto the ground from the force and he dove to grab it but Sendak had the reach and prowess that he didn't so the Galra was there first and kicked it further down the courtyard. Sendak smiled eerily and for a second, they weren't in the courtyard anymore. They were on a border planet and when he looked down, his arm was bleeding as they clashed again and again over the bodies of the dead.

Shiro blinked once, twice, because his arm was _actually_ bleeding as Sendak drew blood in his moment of inattention. The audience hissed while the Galra entourage looked on smugly.

The one who drew first blood was the winner.

Shiro sighed, breathed heavily through his nose, and rose to retrieve his weapon but before he could, Sendak was already bearing down on him again, his left arm extended beyond a normal reach.

In the background, he barely registered Alfor's stiff look of surprise or Allura's sudden rise from her seat.

It was forbidden to attack once the match ended. He saw out of the corner of his eye, his fellow Paladins' rush to assist him and he nodded curtly at them to _back off._ This was _his_ fight and damn if Sendak broke the rules that were set in stone long before any of them were born. For that, Sendak would _burn._

"Too bad you didn't get the upgraded version," the Galra said as he pinned Shiro down and Shiro's right hand betrayed him minutely by sending pain riding up his shoulder before he could suppress it.

"Too bad you couldn't upgrade your face too," Shiro spat back before he kneed the Galra in the stomach and they both rolled several feet over in the courtyard. Getting the upperhand when they finally stopped, Shiro punched down again and again before he was thrown off.

He landed unsteadily on two feet and Sendak was the one spitting this time, blood dripping down his face. "You think you can stop me? _Me?_ " The Galra stopped for a second, catching his breath in the silence, and in the background, Emperor Zarkon sat up straighter, leaned forward, eager, a predator.

" _Nothing_ will stop me but victory, or death." And Shiro's world exploded as Sendak rushed at him, left hand impossibly long, and his bayard was on the other side of the courtyard and his back was against a wall and his hand just _wouldn't move fast enough_ -

Pain rippled across his face and he fell hard onto one knee while his right hand came up to his face. His hand didn't feel anything but blood was dripping down, down, rolling down in waves along his arm and Shiro _couldn't breath_ and a scream was _ringing_ in his ears.

"Now, nothing will stop me from getting to your princess either," Sendak said in a low voice and Shiro's left hand, the human one, the one that still had flesh and blood to it, came up on its own accord and he called…

The bayard came singing a song of strength, of power, of honor, of blood into his open fingers and he _swung_ , knew it connected when Sendak's next sentence choked off halfway.

Shiro blinked and between one second and the next, he had Sendak gasping as he pulled both of the Galra's arms back. Someone was saying something but he couldn't hear because someone's scream was _still_ ringing in his hears and it wasn't until he broke Sendak's left arm did he realize that the scream was his name.

He finally looked up and his face must have been just as bitter as the taste of iron in his mouth, his eyes just as wild as the pain, but Allura, sweet sweet Allura, just took a step forward and stretched out a hand.

King Alfor watched impassively from his seat, his face like stone.

Emperor Zarkon had already left.

"It's over, Shiro," said the princess but he couldn't believe that, not when Sendak's promise of death still hung in his head. His grip tightened on the Galra's other arm and Sendak gulped big big breaths like he wasn't getting enough air.

"Shiro," Allura called again and her hand was still outstretched, open, kind.

 _I am not worthy_ crossed his mind because no, she's not supposed to be here, watching him crush bone, watching him bleed.

Slowly, without taking her eyes from his, Allura knelt down in front of him and the sight of her bloody skirt broke something, perhaps everything, inside of him, like Zarkon's words, like Alfor's trust, like the small petals that fell daily in his room. Like the promises he made to himself to honor and cherish this woman before him.

"Come back to me," she said hoarsely and it was all he needed.

He let go and took her hand.

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Well, that was a journey. What was supposed to be a oneshot became a twoshot became a threeshot. Probably one of the only multi-chapter fics I actually finished so I'm quite proud and happy with the way this fic turned out.

\- Reviews are much appreciated! Even just telling me that you liked the story makes me all the more happy! :)

\- Hope you enjoy this story!


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